Wealth Management Blog

Saving enough money for your retirement is one of the most important things you can do for your financial future. Unfortunately, many Americans do not save enough money to support themselves during their golden years. Not only that, but a lot of people also make the mistake of leaving too much money on the table when they retire because they don’t know how to coordinate the retirement process. With the right retirement strategy, you can maximize your savings and live comfortably during retirement. Keep reading to learn more.

Social Security

There are three pillars to a successful retirement strategy: Social Security, pensions, and assets that supplement the first two pillars. In total there are 567 different ways that a married couple can claim their social security benefits. For example, if your spouse is older than you are then she might claim her social security benefits at a different time than you. On the other hand, you might choose to claim benefits during the same year even if you aren’t the same age. It all depends on your particular situation, and you should take the time to think through different scenarios before claiming your benefits.

Pensions

If you have a pension, you will have to factor in how that money will affect your retirement. Some people mistakenly think that all they need to retire is their pension plan. However, even if you have a good pension plan, you could leave money on the table if you don’t consider all of your available options. To learn more about what a pension is, take a look at this article. It does a good job of answering the most popular pension questions.

Assets

During retirement, you should take advantage of assets that are appropriate for your situation. Having access to different assets will help you avoid sequence of return risk. This article I wrote in April outlines what sequence of return risk is and how you can avoid it. It’s important to avoid excessive risk during retirement. The Rule of 100 is a good rule of thumb to use. If you are 65 years old, then you should only 35 percent of your investments should be risky. The rest of your investments should be safe assets. It’s not always easy to find safe investments on your own, though, which is why you should look into using the services of a money manager. If you want to learn more about choosing a money manager, I encourage to read this post I wrote.

When it comes to securing a healthy financial situation for your retirement, there are many different factors to consider. The above paragraphs are only three pieces of the puzzle. Take the time to think carefully about your retirement strategy and reach out to a money manager who can assist you with crafting a strategy.